Today I managed to have another Southern Indiana Safari – and now I'm able to make my second post in my series on cool, out of the way places right in our Indiana "backyard." It was a great day outside, and I was looking forward to getting outdoors and taking some photos. Today I took my roommate along, and we drove down to the quaint little town of Paoli, Indiana. I had three destinations picked out: the Orangeville River Rise, the Wesley Chapel Gulf and the Pioneer Mothers Forest. They're all within about 15 miles of each other, and they're all uniquely interesting.
********
The Orangeville Rise (or "The Rise of the Lost River")
Because Southern Indiana is rich in limestone, it's also criss-crossed with a network of underground caves, rivers and other unique geological features. Large portions of the southern part of the state have what's known as karst topography – a landscape shaped by the erosion of a layer of bedrock – such as limestone. Because of the dissolution of this rock layer, the area displays many unique drainage features and is home to thousands of caves. (Here's another interesting link about karst topography features: Karst in Indiana).
The area near Paoli has a rich karst topography, and the aptly-named Lost River is a great example of the complex nature of the hydrological system. A Sierra Club article about the river says this:
One of the most complex hydrological systems in the world winds through southern Indiana, dotted with deep springs, caves and sinkholes.
Except after heavy rains, a 22-mile section in the middle of the river is dry, while the water continues to flow underground, coming back to the surface in impressive springs called "rises." The water flows underground at depths of up to 150 feet.
The Lost River has been called an "underground Grand Canyon" and "three-dimensional river delta."
We set out to find one of few of the rises that happen to be on publicly-owned land. The Orangeville Rise is one of the locations that the Lost River suddenly bursts forth above ground again, bubbling to the surface just below a cliff on the south side of town. It's clear locals use the rise as a swimming hole, but exactly how deep the water is would be hard to measure – some sources indicate it's easily over 100 feet deep. The water is unbelievably clear and cool and has the most wonderful green tint to it. The Orangeville Rise isn't hard to find, and is right off the side of the road, designated as a National Natural Landmark. Definitely worth seeing.
********
The Wesley Chapel Gulf
About five miles east of the Orangeville Rise is the Wesley Chapel Gulf, which is found in a small, 187-acre island of the Hoosier National Forest. The topography is drastic and unexpected – amongst the rolling farmland is a 1,000-foot wide sinkhole!
The Wesley Chapel Gulf was formed when a large section of the underground topography collapsed, sinking the terrain and exposing many caves, springs and other karst features. The most breathtaking part of the gulf is pictured above – where a large spring bubbles to the surface below the 200-foot cliff. According to most estimates, the water rises about 150 feet (that number rises to more than 300 feet if you believe some of the locals) and promptly flows into the cliff wall and disappears. It's really quite incredible. I'm not entirely sure of the name of this particular feature, but I think it's called the "Boiling Spring."
Once again, the water was incredibly clear at the top, while just below the surface it took on a pristine green color. You could actually hear the water coming to the surface and running under the cliff. It was amazing, and exceeded all my expectations of how beautiful it would be. There are also lots of caves in the area (caving, of course, is strictly prohibited) which criss-cross in every direction imaginable. They are prone to flash floods, just as the water level of the spring is apt to change often. After such a dry summer, I'm sure the water level was relatively low in this photo. I want to go back sometime when it's rained a lot and see how high the water rises. As dry as it was, I still got pretty muddy (especially my butt... when I slipped and fell... multiple times).
While we were at the Boiling Spring, we met two of the friendliest and funnest local beagle dogs – I nicknamed them George and Lennie in the fashion of Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men." George was the leader, while Lennie was a bit bigger but just followed George around. Anyway, the dogs ran up to us as soon as we hiked back to the gulf and followed us around the whole time (I was impressed with their climbing skills). I caught this picture of "George" and I think it shows exactly what he's all about. What a happy life. Both George and Lennie (who didn't kill any rabbits or mice while we were there, to my knowledge) were both rewarded with a Nature Valley granola bar when they followed us back to the car.
********
The Pioneer Mother's Forest
Not much to say about this one, as the visit here was cut short by my inability to find the darn place, and the fact that it was getting dark (and we were getting hungry). The Forest Service sells the Pioneer Mother's Forest as Indiana's only public old-growth forest – there has never been a tree cut inside the boundaries of the park, as far as their records show (apart from one or two for pioneer firewood, I'm sure).
Well, if you know me, you know that I LOVE trees, so I thought this place was pretty cool. There were enormous birch, oak, maple, sycamore and tulip trees. I don't think we hiked in far enough to really get to the biggest trees – most of the forest looked like much of the forest you see in Indiana already. It was still beautiful though, and I'd love to go back in a few weeks when the fall colors are out and find the really big old trees.
Anyway, it's time to go back to watching Raiders of the Lost Ark – an appropriate end to an adventurous day. If you want to know how to get to any of these places, give me a shout – they're not hard to find if you know what you're looking for, and they're all within an hour of Bloomington.
No comments:
Post a Comment